This past week I gave a lesson in Gospel Doctrine about Jesus Christ. I asked what I believe to be two very important questions.
#1 Why do we celebrate Christmas?
The answer: To celebrate Christ's birth.
#2 Who is Jesus Christ that we should celebrate His birth?
That question received a couple of surprised looks ...perhaps "aghast" looks fits better. I think they couldn't believe that I would dare ask such a thing. But I asked because so many of us just run through Christmas at Mach 10 without stopping to comprehend--and I mean truly comprehend--why we are celebrating Christmas in the first place.
So who is Jesus Christ that we should celebrate His birth?
I have a four part answer for this question.
#1 Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever walked, or will ever walk, the earth that has a divine and immortal father and a fair and mortal mother. We are, of course, all spirit children of our Father in Heaven but Jesus is the only one that is the literal Son of God. We celebrate the birth of our brother who is literally divine.
#2 Jesus Christ has a perfect character.
Jesus Christ's character as related by prophets in both the Middle East (Bible) and the Americas (Book of Mormon) is beyond reproach. He is loving, kind, merciful, unchanging, all powerful, creator of all, all knowing, truth, and patience. The list, of course, goes on and on. If anyone had reason to boast of His abilities it was He but that brings me to one of the most fantastic traits of all: humility. He was the most humble of men and tolerated abuse, criticism, loathing, and unfair judgement though He walked perfectly in every way. We celebrate the birth of our brother because He was perfect.
#3 Jesus Christ saved us all.
Church going people often say that they have been "saved" through Jesus Christ. But what exactly does that mean? How did Christ save us? Well there are two ways that we have need of being saved. #1 Spiritual death. #2 Physical death.
Spiritual death comes whenever we sin. When we sin we are doing things against God's will, and thus, we cannot stay close to Him. So every time we sin we move farther away from where God is. Every time we create distance between God and ourselves through sin we are dying spiritually. Christ overcame this death through the Atonement. The Atonement is when Christ paid the price for our sins. This occurred during the time Christ spent in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He suffered great physical and emotional pain that is so far beyond our comprehension that it is hard to wrap our minds around just how painful that could have really been. This was all on our behalf. Christ knew that the price of our sins was simply too great for us to pay ourselves. He knew we needed someone to intervene and pay the price for us. So He did. Of course, there is a stipulation. He didn't just pay the price for us and we can go on our merry way. No...The Atonement only works and He only paid the price for our sins if we are willing to repent. (For more on repentance, there is another blog I wrote specifying the exact steps needed to truly repent of our sins).
Physical death comes when we die. It means that our spirit and our body separate. (In another blog, I discussed this in depth indicating that the spirit goes to the Spirit World and the body goes into the grave). Christ overcame physical death through the resurrection. He rose after the third day of His death with a new and immortal flesh and bone body and lead the way for many others to also gain an immortal soul (spirit and immortal body). If Christ had not resurrected our spirit and body would stay separated after this life forever. We would never know the joys of having a body again like being able to taste, touch, smell, etc... But Christ did overcome death through the resurrection and we will have the opportunity to do the same.
We celebrate the birth of our brother because He saved us from spiritual and physical death.
#4 Jesus Christ is our example.
Not only did Christ save us but He also showed us the way to get back to our Heavenly Father. He was our example. He was baptized by John the Baptist though He had no need of baptism. He always followed the will of our Heavenly Father even though He had his agency to choose another way. He came to this earth and received a body, exercised faith, and chose the right...always. He loved everyone...the sinners and righteous alike. He taught us what kind of men and women we should be. We should be even as He is. He showed us the way in all things. We celebrate the birth of our brother because He is our exemplar.
We celebrate Christmas because we are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. We celebrate Jesus Christ because He is the literal Son of God, He is flawless in character, He saved us from ourselves, and He showed us what we needed to do to get back to our Heavenly Father. The "good news" and "great tidings" that the angel proclaimed was that HOPE was born that day in Bethlehem. Hope for a better world, hope that we can change our ways, hope that we can become even as Christ is, hope that we can return to our Heavenly Father someday. Jesus Christ is our hope...our only hope. We celebrate the bright and wonderful and amazing day that He came into the world! That is why we celebrate Christmas!! Always remember...never forget.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
No Ordinary Birthday
Today is my birthday. Though I don't consider myself to be very old, birthdays have started to feel more and more like any other day in the year. Wait! I know what you are thinking but don't get me wrong! My family always remembers to call and send gifts. There's usually a nice supper and great cake. I am absolutely appreciative of it all! I remember a time, though, when I would start counting down to my birthday a month or two before my own celebrated date. I would think about whether I'd be having a party, what kinds of gifts I'd get, etc... But life just seems to have become so busy that often my birthday is upon me before I even realize it. People start asking me what I want for my birthday and I have no idea what to tell them because I haven't even thought about it. This one almost caught me by surprise again but just recently I realized that the impact of this birthday will be quite different for me than those that have gone before.
Recently, my family received a little scripture reading guide from some of the leaders at church. The assigned scripture passages are all about Christ from birth to death. The guide itself is set up like an advent calendar where you have to read the passage for that day and then mark it with a star sticker once its been read. So we've been reading about Christ for several nights. Tonight, after our reading, I realized that this was not going to be an ordinary birthday for me.
Today, I turn 33. This is the same age that our Savior was when He prayed and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and was crucified on the cross. My mind struggles with the idea that I am the same age that He was when He was at the pinnacle of His time here on earth. He was so very wise, all-knowing, mature, dedicated, compassionate, loving, forgiving, just, and the list goes on. I try to think about whether I know of any others my age that might have these characteristics. Without meaning to disrespect anyone, I don't couldn't think of anyone that I know that looks like they are 33 but speaks and acts with the wisdom and experience of someone age 99. What an amazing man!
The one thought that keeps going through my head is "He was the same age as me. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and the on the cross." I couldn't have done that. His only "reward" for His sacrifice was the remote possibility that we might want to change for the better by repenting and thus coming closer to Him and then finally returning to Him.
I stand all amazed....
Recently, my family received a little scripture reading guide from some of the leaders at church. The assigned scripture passages are all about Christ from birth to death. The guide itself is set up like an advent calendar where you have to read the passage for that day and then mark it with a star sticker once its been read. So we've been reading about Christ for several nights. Tonight, after our reading, I realized that this was not going to be an ordinary birthday for me.
Today, I turn 33. This is the same age that our Savior was when He prayed and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and was crucified on the cross. My mind struggles with the idea that I am the same age that He was when He was at the pinnacle of His time here on earth. He was so very wise, all-knowing, mature, dedicated, compassionate, loving, forgiving, just, and the list goes on. I try to think about whether I know of any others my age that might have these characteristics. Without meaning to disrespect anyone, I don't couldn't think of anyone that I know that looks like they are 33 but speaks and acts with the wisdom and experience of someone age 99. What an amazing man!
The one thought that keeps going through my head is "He was the same age as me. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and the on the cross." I couldn't have done that. His only "reward" for His sacrifice was the remote possibility that we might want to change for the better by repenting and thus coming closer to Him and then finally returning to Him.
I stand all amazed....
Saturday, December 12, 2009
It All Comes From Above
When we make any increase monetarily, the Lord expects us to give 10% of it to Him. Many churches practice this law which is known as "tithing." There are three pertinent questions that are relevant to this law.
#1 What is the purpose of the law of tithing?
#2 Where does this money go after a member of the church pays it?
#3 What blessings can we receive if this law is followed?
The purpose of paying tithing is not because God needs money. He clearly does not. No, the law of tithing is a law of obedience. The Lord wants to know that we are going to obey His commandment to pay tithing even when it is very hard to do so. Money does make the world go 'round. Many people set their hearts on gaining more and more money. However, their love of money can be to their detriment and demise. They will want more and more but they will never fill satisfied. This law helps all of us never get to this point. It helps teach us how to part with some of our money (and really 10% is so little in comparison to what we keep for ourselves) and give it to the Lord. Especially in these hard economic times, tithing is a hard law to follow. Are we willing to pay our 10% to God before we pay anything else? The law of tithing requires a lot of faith in our Heavenly Father but if we love Him we will obey the law.
Every church differs in what they do with the tithing. However, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tithing is not used to pay people but to provide people with the things they need to continue to worship God. In other words, the money is not used to pay clergy. The money IS used to pay for such things as teaching manuals and the building and maintenance of church buildings.
The blessings we receive from obeying the law of tithing or innumerable. Most notably, if we pay our tithing we never want for anything. All our needs will be met. It is a large leap of faith to pay our tithing before buying groceries or paying a pressing bill or even buying that shiny new object in the store. However, if tithing is paid first then the Lord blesses us with all that we need and more. In Malachi 3:10 it states "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." If we simply demonstrate our obedience to the Lord and pay our tithing (10% of our gross income and any other monetary increases we may receive) then the blessings will go above and beyond that 10% in ways that we can't imagine. So much so in fact that there "...shall not be room enough to receive it."
A quick story here. An religious instructor of mine one time related his own story of the blessings of paying tithing. He said that he and his wife had committed to pay their tithing diligently and "prove" the Lord as to whether they truly would receive that 10% back and more. He said that not long after that someone was getting rid of their couches and so they took them into his home. Then someone else gave them a lawnmower that was broken which he was able to easily fix. Things went on like that and then around about one year after they made their commitment, he was in his garage and was trying to maneuver around all the stuff they had stored there and he indicated that they had so much stuff in their garage that he could barely move. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but the point is that in a very literal sense that scripture of not having room enough to store their blessings was very real and had come to pass for them.
Paying our tithing pays dividends spiritually and temporally in amounts that we cannot possibly comprehend until we live the law. We simply have to obey the law of tithing to receive them.
#1 What is the purpose of the law of tithing?
#2 Where does this money go after a member of the church pays it?
#3 What blessings can we receive if this law is followed?
The purpose of paying tithing is not because God needs money. He clearly does not. No, the law of tithing is a law of obedience. The Lord wants to know that we are going to obey His commandment to pay tithing even when it is very hard to do so. Money does make the world go 'round. Many people set their hearts on gaining more and more money. However, their love of money can be to their detriment and demise. They will want more and more but they will never fill satisfied. This law helps all of us never get to this point. It helps teach us how to part with some of our money (and really 10% is so little in comparison to what we keep for ourselves) and give it to the Lord. Especially in these hard economic times, tithing is a hard law to follow. Are we willing to pay our 10% to God before we pay anything else? The law of tithing requires a lot of faith in our Heavenly Father but if we love Him we will obey the law.
Every church differs in what they do with the tithing. However, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tithing is not used to pay people but to provide people with the things they need to continue to worship God. In other words, the money is not used to pay clergy. The money IS used to pay for such things as teaching manuals and the building and maintenance of church buildings.
The blessings we receive from obeying the law of tithing or innumerable. Most notably, if we pay our tithing we never want for anything. All our needs will be met. It is a large leap of faith to pay our tithing before buying groceries or paying a pressing bill or even buying that shiny new object in the store. However, if tithing is paid first then the Lord blesses us with all that we need and more. In Malachi 3:10 it states "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." If we simply demonstrate our obedience to the Lord and pay our tithing (10% of our gross income and any other monetary increases we may receive) then the blessings will go above and beyond that 10% in ways that we can't imagine. So much so in fact that there "...shall not be room enough to receive it."
A quick story here. An religious instructor of mine one time related his own story of the blessings of paying tithing. He said that he and his wife had committed to pay their tithing diligently and "prove" the Lord as to whether they truly would receive that 10% back and more. He said that not long after that someone was getting rid of their couches and so they took them into his home. Then someone else gave them a lawnmower that was broken which he was able to easily fix. Things went on like that and then around about one year after they made their commitment, he was in his garage and was trying to maneuver around all the stuff they had stored there and he indicated that they had so much stuff in their garage that he could barely move. I'm paraphrasing, of course, but the point is that in a very literal sense that scripture of not having room enough to store their blessings was very real and had come to pass for them.
Paying our tithing pays dividends spiritually and temporally in amounts that we cannot possibly comprehend until we live the law. We simply have to obey the law of tithing to receive them.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
One In Purpose
The Godhead is made up of three separate and distinct individuals.
#1 God, the Father (Elohim)
#2 God, the Son (Jehovah)
#3 God, the Spirit
The scriptures often make mention that these three beings are "one." The conclusion then being that they are one in the same person. However, that is not the case. When it says that they are "one" it simply means that they are one in purpose. The Son would say the same thing as the Father would. The Spirit would say what the Son would. They all have the same purpose, same goal in helping us to return to our Father in Heaven. They are, however, very distinct beings. For instance, when it came to the creation of the world...
-- God, the Father, was the architect.
-- God, the Son, was the engineer.
God, the Spirit, has a very unique job in that he testifies of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whenever someone testifies of Heavenly Father and the Savior, the Spirit touches their hearts with feelings of peace, love, compassion and their minds with clarity and perspective. Though God, the Spirit, is a separate and distinct being, he is still able to touch many people at once. A good analogy of this is the sun. There is only one sun but the effects of the sun are felt by thousands and thousands at the same time. Well the Spirit works the same way. There is only one of him but the effects of him are felt by thousands.
I know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings. I know that each one of them has a very important role to play in this plan of happiness called life. I know that they are one in purpose in all that they do.
#1 God, the Father (Elohim)
#2 God, the Son (Jehovah)
#3 God, the Spirit
The scriptures often make mention that these three beings are "one." The conclusion then being that they are one in the same person. However, that is not the case. When it says that they are "one" it simply means that they are one in purpose. The Son would say the same thing as the Father would. The Spirit would say what the Son would. They all have the same purpose, same goal in helping us to return to our Father in Heaven. They are, however, very distinct beings. For instance, when it came to the creation of the world...
-- God, the Father, was the architect.
-- God, the Son, was the engineer.
God, the Spirit, has a very unique job in that he testifies of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whenever someone testifies of Heavenly Father and the Savior, the Spirit touches their hearts with feelings of peace, love, compassion and their minds with clarity and perspective. Though God, the Spirit, is a separate and distinct being, he is still able to touch many people at once. A good analogy of this is the sun. There is only one sun but the effects of the sun are felt by thousands and thousands at the same time. Well the Spirit works the same way. There is only one of him but the effects of him are felt by thousands.
I know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings. I know that each one of them has a very important role to play in this plan of happiness called life. I know that they are one in purpose in all that they do.
Monday, December 7, 2009
What's Love Got To Do With It?
What's love got to do with it? Everything.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is all about love, and more specifically, the kind of love with no conditions. It is the pure love of Christ. This pure, unconditional love is called charity. The greatest demonstration of this love is Christ himself. He is a perfect being who made the perfect sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. In those two places, Christ took upon himself pain and suffering from all of our sins, illnesses, diseases, heart aches, and trauma. He suffered it all even though He was perfect. He made no mistakes. He had the gift to heal. He understood other men's hearts so He understood why they behaved the way they did. He was perfect and yet He made the ultimate sacrifice not just giving His life but suffering so extensively that we cannot comprehend the enormous amount of anguish he felt. All this was on our behalf. All of this was because He loves us so much we cannot possibly comprehend its measure. He suffered our sins. Not His because He had none. Yet He willingly, lovingly suffered our sins and mistakes. How is it possible that our elder brother, Jesus Christ, could love us so much? I've wondered before whether I was worth it to Him, and though I don't deserve it, I know the answer to that question is yes. Even when I don't feel like I am worth it, He unbelievably does. How are we so blessed and loved to have such an amazing and wondrous brother that would sacrifice Himself for us! He stood to gain nothing from this sacrifice except the possibility that we might choose to come back to Him and our Heavenly Father again someday. Knowing this makes me want to be so much more than I am. I do not want to let Him down. I want to return to be with Him someday so that I may fall to the floor and bathe His feet with my tears and kisses for all He did for me just so that I might have the chance to return to Him someday. Now, we must go forth and try to love as He did. It is a task that sometimes seems nearly impossible. To love someone as they are, mistakes and all, with no conditions attached. That is true love. We must strive to find this kind of love in our hearts for all whom we meet. Love has everything to do with everything!
The gospel of Jesus Christ is all about love, and more specifically, the kind of love with no conditions. It is the pure love of Christ. This pure, unconditional love is called charity. The greatest demonstration of this love is Christ himself. He is a perfect being who made the perfect sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. In those two places, Christ took upon himself pain and suffering from all of our sins, illnesses, diseases, heart aches, and trauma. He suffered it all even though He was perfect. He made no mistakes. He had the gift to heal. He understood other men's hearts so He understood why they behaved the way they did. He was perfect and yet He made the ultimate sacrifice not just giving His life but suffering so extensively that we cannot comprehend the enormous amount of anguish he felt. All this was on our behalf. All of this was because He loves us so much we cannot possibly comprehend its measure. He suffered our sins. Not His because He had none. Yet He willingly, lovingly suffered our sins and mistakes. How is it possible that our elder brother, Jesus Christ, could love us so much? I've wondered before whether I was worth it to Him, and though I don't deserve it, I know the answer to that question is yes. Even when I don't feel like I am worth it, He unbelievably does. How are we so blessed and loved to have such an amazing and wondrous brother that would sacrifice Himself for us! He stood to gain nothing from this sacrifice except the possibility that we might choose to come back to Him and our Heavenly Father again someday. Knowing this makes me want to be so much more than I am. I do not want to let Him down. I want to return to be with Him someday so that I may fall to the floor and bathe His feet with my tears and kisses for all He did for me just so that I might have the chance to return to Him someday. Now, we must go forth and try to love as He did. It is a task that sometimes seems nearly impossible. To love someone as they are, mistakes and all, with no conditions attached. That is true love. We must strive to find this kind of love in our hearts for all whom we meet. Love has everything to do with everything!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
We Can Be Participants in God's Powers
Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. Just like any parent He wants us to have what He has and more. Our Father in Heaven has generously allowed us to be participants in his powers. How you may ask? There are two ways.
#1 The power to act in God's name: The Priesthood.
#2 The power to create life: Procreation.
The priesthood is a wondrous power bestowed upon worthy male members of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is a power that allows worthy men to lay their hands upon the heads of those in need and bless them with health, courage, comfort, patience, and love in the name of Jesus Christ.
Procreation is an amazing and life-altering power given to women. It is a power that allows women to be co-creators in bringing life on this earth to Heavenly Father's spirit children.
What is important to understand is...
#1 How fantastic our Heavenly Father is for allowing us to be apart of such magnificent miracles that come through his powers of the priesthood and procreation.
#2 How imperative it is that men and women recognize that they cannot spiritually progress in these powers without each other. In other words, men cannot exercise their priesthood without the help of women to counsel with them in all things spiritual and women cannot exercise procreation without the help of men. So while each power has a primary role player (i.e. the men are key in the priesthood and the women are key in procreation), neither power can be utilized without the assistance and support of the secondary role player.
#3 The blessings of the priesthood come not only to those that are served (i.e. receiving the blessing, ordinations, etc...) but to those that serve. The more the priesthood is used for the good and benefit of man, the more blessings those that worthily utilize the priesthood receive. According to the faith of those that receive the blessings, they can be healed, comforted, guided in ways that we could not have imagined without the power and blessings of the priesthood. How magnificent a power is this!
#4 The blessings of procreation is that through the power of God we are able to give life! With the aide of men, women are able to feel a marvelous and remarkable miracle growing within them. When a baby is born, they are the evidence of the power of life and as women, we are able to be apart of that. On top of that, we have the chance to be earthly parents to Heavenly Father's children. He is giving us a chance to feel what it is like for Him to be our parent. How amazing!! If you are a parent, think now of all the joys, trials, tribulations, elation that you have experienced with or because of your own children. Now realize that this relationship between parent and child is not new. It has always existed between us and our Father in Heaven. As our Father, He feels what we feel...happy when we are happy, sad when we are sad. He also knows the feelings of excitement at our progression and disappointment when we take a step back. Thanks to our Father in Heaven, we have the opportunity to feel the same about our own children. What an amazing gift He has given us!
If we desire to be apart of God's plan, we can be major participants in God's powers of the priesthood and procreation. Wonderful miracles that come through both of these powers occur all the time and we can be apart of it all if we so choose to do. I hope you do.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Christ's Church: The Restoration
The Apostasy (the time when Christ's church was taken from the earth) continued into the 1800's. There was still major confusion about which church one should join because no one knew how to read or interpret the scriptures correctly, and per man's choice, the heavens were still closed (i.e. there was no communication between God and man). Churches that differed in doctrine each claimed that they had the proper authority to act in God's name and that they were the Lord's true church. It was no wonder that the confusion of the people during that time continued to mount. However, there was one young humble boy who simply decided to pray to God to find out which church was true. The boy received an answer from God that none of the churches at that time was the Lord's true church. None of them had the authority to act in the Lord's name. This young boy was prepared and eventually called to be a Prophet of God. The young boy's name was Joseph Smith.
So then how was Christ's Church restored?
(It is important to note here that restoration means putting things back they way they were before whereas reformation means to change things from the way they were before).
#1 With Joseph Smith, prophets and apostles were once again called to lead and guide the Church of Jesus Christ.
#2 This prophet (Joseph Smith) and the other apostles that were called, received the holy priesthood (the power/authority to act in God's name) through the resurrected beings of John the Baptist (the Aaronic Priesthood) and through Peter, James, and John (the Melchizedek Priesthood).
#3 With this authority, the prophet Joseph Smith and the apostles were now able to receive revelation.
#4 With this authority, the prophet and apostles were able to write their revelations into scripture as well as interpret correctly the scriptures already in existence.
Thus the four pillars of The Church of Jesus Christ were established once again, just as they had been in Christ's day. The church today is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The addition of "Latter-day Saints" simply acknowledges that the Apostasy occurred. It is still Christ's church; restored to the exact manner in which it was established while Christ walked the earth. It is Christ's church and Christ is at the head of it.
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